LONDON: Two people fell ill on Sunday when eating in a restaurant in Salisbury, the English city where former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in March.
Police were called to the Prezzo restaurant in the evening in response to a “medical incident” involving a man and a woman, Wiltshire Police said in a statement.
“As a precautionary measure, the restaurant and surrounding roads have been cordoned off while officers attend the scene and establish the circumstances surrounding what led them to become ill,” it said.
Britain has said Russian officers used the nerve agent Novichok to attack the Skripals. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.
Police have said a nerve toxin had been left on the front door of the Skripals’ home. They were found slumped in Salisbury city center after visting the Bishop’s Mill pub and Zizzi, another Italian restaurant.
The former Russian spy and his daughter survived the murder attempt, but an unconnected woman, Dawn Sturgess, died in July and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after Rowley found a perfume bottle containing the same nerve agent.
Earlier this month British prosecutors identified two Russians they said were operating under aliases — Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov — whom they accused of trying to murder the Skripals with a military-grade nerve agent.
Britain charged the two men in absentia with attempted murder, and said the suspects were military intelligence officers almost certainly acting on orders from high up in the Russian state.
Two Russians resembling the men said on television on Thursday that they were innocent tourists who had flown to London for fun and visited the city of Salisbury to see its cathedral.
They surfaced a day after President Vladimir Putin said Russia had located Petrov and Boshirov, but that there was nothing special or criminal about them.
Two people fall ill in UK poison attack city restaurant
Two people fall ill in UK poison attack city restaurant
Thai and Cambodian top diplomats meet in China to solidify ceasefire
- The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July
BEIJING: Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries’ border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.
The ceasefire agreement signed on Saturday calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced over half a million in both countries.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in China’s southwestern Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
The talks aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Sihasak’s office.
Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.
China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.
“China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement read.
The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.
China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the United States and Malaysia.
A July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed.
Despite those deals, Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued, erupting into heavy fighting in early December.
Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Wang, expressed deep appreciation for China’s “vital role” in supporting the ceasefire.
China also announced 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.
The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.
Sihasak said Sunday he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.
“Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well,” he said.
